Mark Hess
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
August 14, 1992
(Phone: 202/453-4164)
Barbara Schwartz
Johnson Space Center, Houston
(Phone: 713/483-5111)
RELEASE: 92-131
ASTRONAUT SULLIVAN TO BECOME CHIEF SCIENTIST AT NOAA
Kathryn D. Sullivan, Ph.D., will be detailed to the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as Chief
Scientist, pending Senate confirmation to make this a permanent
assignment. She will begin her new assignment Aug. 17.
A veteran of three space flights, Sullivan became the first
spacewalking U.S. woman on her first mission, STS-41G, in Oct.
1984, when she and fellow astronaut David Leestma conducted a
3-1/2-hour extravehicular demonstration of the feasibility of
refueling satellites in space. Also, the crew worked on a
number of scientific Earth observations experiments.
In April 1990, Sullivan was a member of the STS-31 crew,
responsible for deploying the Hubble Space Telescope and
conducting a variety of middeck experiments including protein
crystal growth, polymer membrane processing and the effects of
weightlessness and magnetic fields on an ion arc.
More recently, Sullivan was Payload Commander on STS-45 in
March 1992, the first Spacelab mission dedicated to NASA's
Mission to Planet Earth to study the Earth's atmosphere.
Sullivan's activities before joining NASA in 1978 were
concentrated in academic study and research. Her doctoral
studies at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia,
included participation in a variety of oceanographic
expeditions, under the auspices of the U.S. Geological Survey,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Mass. and the Bedford
Institute in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Her research included the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the Newfoundland Basin and fault zones off
the Southern California Coast.
- more -
- 2 -
As an oceanography officer in the U.S. Naval Reserve,
Sullivan currently holds the rank of lieutenant commander. She
also was an Adjunct Professor of Geology at Rice University in
Houston from 1985 to 1992.
"My 14 years at NASA have been immensely rewarding, both
professionally and personally. I will take many cherished
memories with me, particularly the superb people who make up the
Shuttle team. I know they can craft this country an exciting
spacefaring future, and I will watch their exploits with great
interest and pride," Sullivan said.
"Kathy is the consummate space pioneer. Her outstanding
accomplishments as an astronaut and her work as a member of the
National Commission on Space have paved the way for space
exploration in the 21st century. Although Kathy is moving on to
another career, she leaves a legacy for all that follow. We
will miss her and wish her great success in her new position,"
Director of Flight Crew Operations Donald R. Puddy said.
-end-